零食

líng shí

CL 包 bāo 种 zhǒng 袋 dài

HSK 2.0 Level 5 HSK 3.0 Level 4 Noun Uncommon

Definitions

1. between-meal nibbles
2. snacks

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 正餐 zhèng cān 正餐 zhèng cān (regular) meal 零食 are snacks eaten between meals, opposite of 正餐 which is a proper meal.: (regular) meal

Related words

2 items

• 小吃 xiǎo chī 小吃 xiǎo chī snack 零食 is often store-bought snacks, while 小吃 refers to small dishes or street food.: snack
• 甜点 tián diǎn 甜点 tián diǎn dessert 零食 includes sweet and savory snacks, 甜点 specifically means dessert.: dessert

Synonyms

1 item

• 点心 diǎn xin 点心 diǎn xin light refreshments In some contexts, 点心 overlaps with snacks, though it often implies pastries or dim sum.: light refreshments

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Don't confuse 零食 (snacks) with 零时 (zero hour/midnight); they are pronounced differently (língshí vs. língshí but different characters) and the latter is uncommon.

Formality

零食 is the standard neutral term for snacks; there's no common formal/informal variant, but in very casual speech you might hear 零嘴儿 in northern dialects.

Example Sentences

1 shown

我买了一包 零食 。

I bought a bag of snacks.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 零食

• 零 零 líng: zero
• 食 食 shí: to eat
• 食 食 sì: to feed (a person or animal)